Opposing the State government’s order to include midday meal workers-cum-helpers for pension under the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-Dhan (PM-SYM) scheme, the Kalaburagi district unit of Karnataka State Akshara Dasoha Noukarara Sangha plans to stage a protest on October 17.
Gauramma Patil, Honorary President of the sangha, addressing presspersons said that as per the criteria, the scheme would benefit midday meal workers between 18-40, while those workers serving at various anganwadis for years who were over 40 years would not be eligible for the scheme.
Terming the scheme ‘anti-labour’, Ms. Patil said that around 1.18 lakh midday meal cooks in the State would be deprived of a pension if they were included in the PM-SYM scheme.
She said that after holding several meetings with the Secretary of the Education Department in the last three years, the workers were entitled to the pension. A sum of ₹100 from their remuneration was deducted every month towards pension contribution and the equivalent amount was contributed by the government as a contribution too.
Ms. Patil said a State-level protest would be held in Bengaluru in December demanding that the government exempt the midday meal workers from PM-SYM scheme or to reconsider the decision on the age criteria.
